Used
by the airborne men to indentify each other at night,
when pressed it made a sound that was similar to the
noise crickets make thus giving it it's name.

Veterans
tell about their various equipment items...

Edgar
Gamble
One piece of equipment that I was assigned to was the
"bazooka" in which I had no experience whatsoever
but was instructed on the spot how to load & fire
but little on how to aim. The one and only incident
that I was subjected to fire on a tank, (which turned
out to be our own) wonder to this day where the rocket
would have hit if it had been an enemy tank. Another
piece of equipment that really "bugged me"
was laying the steel matting for runways & of course
while wearing that 9 lb steel helmet.

Paul
R. Miller
When we were out of all material to put anyone under so
we could operate, Capt. Ben Hull came up with the idea
we would use ethyl chloride and we covered the eyes so
they wouldn't get frozen and I put a mask on the patient
a Captain who had a belly wound and with instruction from
Hull I Squirted the ethyl chloried in the mask which put
the patient under for a short time and when he appeared
to be comming out of it I gave him another squirt until
the operation was over. Ben Hull saved this mans life
with this unusual method. I have never seen this used
then or since. Hows that for meatball surgery. Ethyl chloride
is a freezing agent and we always carried several bottles
with us into combat. It was a quick fix to remove a small
fragment without novocain as it deadened the area for
a short time and the person could return to his company
at once.

Joe
Manzella
Shaved out of the helmet also cooked a chicken in it.
I told you that the flame thrower didn't work and I
had to toss it away.

Irving
Smolens
I never used my helmet in which to boil water. The heat
could have damaged its ability to deflect shrapnel. High
powered bullets could penetrate the helmets despite the
fact that they were made of steel. Mostly we shaved, when
we shaved, with cold water. If we boiled water it was
in empty gallon cans. We used the tar paper cases in which
our 105 mm shells came encased as fire logs. They burned
without smoke. We started the fire with gasoline and fed
it with surplus powder charges from the shells. The shells
came with 7 powder charges the largest of which was the
number one charge. Being light artillery we were fairly
close to the front lines therefore we seldom fired anything
more than charge three. That left us many individual bags
of surplus powder charges that we disposed of by burning
them.

Lawrence
Bennet
I started my Infantry training in Texas. We first trained
with the 03-Springfield rifle used during WWI. It was
a bolt action rifle. It was later replaced later by the
M1 Garand a semi-automatic rifle. I served in a heavy
weapons company and we used the 30 calibre machine gun
which was also used in ww1. A good weapon but not as good
as German machine guns which had a faster firing rate
Other equipment included a field pack to carry our mess
kit, toilet articles and a shelter half. The shelter half
was half of a pup tent and one shared the pup tent with
another GI. Of course we had the helmet liner an steel
helmet. The worst piece of equipment was the gas mask
We were never without it and it was so difficult on a
long march, slung over your shoulder and alongside and
under your left arm pit. Real misery. We carried all through
our training. When we went overseas it was taken from
us and we did not see them again.

Ed
Walsh
Most of our equipment was real good . I can only think
of two that were not the best. One was the machine pistol
" grease Gun" it was okay for very close range
but not as good as the German "Burp gun". The
other was the carbine that all privates, Pfcs and
corporals in the artillery carried. Not very accurate
even at close range. Later models were better but we never
had any of those. So many privates and corporals picked
up the M1 Garand that were left behind from dead infantry
men and carried them. Many of the Sergeants that carried
a 45 pistol also had an M1 if they could find one. I had
an M1 for a couple months but got tired of carrying it
and went back to the carbine. This was because I had to
walk so many miles every day delivering messages. I gave
the one I had to a Staff Sergeant that was a forward observer
because he really needed it. I only heated water in the
helmet to shave with but I have seen infantrymen heat
food in them.

Joe
T. Layne
I really do not remember very much about equipment but
I can tell you that we did not have very many eggs, except
those made from powdered eggs. Our food was for the most
part average. As you most likely know we had several types
of rations. The main ration was the "C" ration
that came in cans. There was the biscuit, hash and stew.
The biscuits were very hard. If we could have hit the
Germans with them it would have been all over. Later in
the war they had some new ones but I do not recall what
they were. Our clothes were very good for the time. Not
as good as the troops have today but for the time very
good. Our rifles were about the best. The M1 was a great
rifle and the Germans could not match it. The Germans
had better artillery at start of the war but we caught
up with them. Their tanks were better than ours. That
is about all I can recall.

John
MacAuliffe
Most of the infantrymen 'on line' threw away the gas masks
they were just one item they needn't be bothered with,
and burdened with slung around their body with all the
standard equipment I carried as a mortar-man. I carried
6 rounds of HE light .81 mm. mortar rounds in a pouch
carried over the shoulder. I could not place the pouch
over my head with one compartment in front and one over
my back. It wouldn't fit with the pack in the way. It
weighed 42 pounds(6 rounds). Walking through a foot of
snow with galoshes over combat boots was a burden

Archie
Ross
In the past I think I made it obvious that I had little
regard for most of the officers with whom I had contact.
I saw our Captain transporting whiskey in his Jeep when
we could hardly walk. We had almost no tools to clean
our weapons in the field. Special gloves were issued
with a trigger finger; we never saw them; they were
"short stopped" by the rear echelon. On the
other hand; we were sent back to Eupen, Belgium on '48
hour pass' where we entered a tent at one end, and came
out the other shaved, showered, and fresh, and with
new clothes! We always had enough ammunition. Many did
a good job. I don't remember anyone abusing his equipment
on purpose. Remember I was combat infantry. We carried
everything we owned on our backs. I carried Cadbury's
chocolates, newspaper, socks, blanket, sometimes a shelter
half, sometimes a sleeping bag; only what we needed
to survive. There was little "cooking" in
a helmet, I never saw that. Generally, we couldn't have
a fire, because it would give away our position. I'm
sure you're familiar with the "Molotov Cocktail":
a bottle filled with gasoline, and stuffed with a rag;
we did the same with " C" ration cans cut
in half (only they were filled with dirt, and gasoline),
and we did the same with an ordinary candle. We used
these things for light, and warmth, depending on the
situation. If we were enclosed for some hours, we would
emerge black faced, because of the smoke emitted from
these 'devices'. I think I shaved once from my helmet,
and I'm not sure about that. I think that was a 'movie
contrivance'. We used small empty cans with stones in
them, attached by wire, strung out in front of our 'line'
to alert us if anything was moving 'out there.'

Jerry
Bartling
My father drove a light tank in the 11th Armoured Div.
(with a short barrel howitzer). I don't know what he liked
or disliked about it, but a general impression I have
is that most tankers thought the German equipment was
better overall, although the US tanks were a little faster
and more manoeuvrable. In the two letters I sent you,
he mentions the Panzer Faust, which seemed to worry a
lot of tankers. As told by Tom Bartling Jerry's son.

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